Kitchen shredder

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for pre-composting organic material, comprising: a housing with two openings and a pre-composting means between the two openings wherein kitchen scraps may be fed in the first opening and the pre-composted scraps exit the second opening. In an embodiment of the present invention the pre-composter includes: a lid assembly which may facilitate feeding scraps into the pre-composter; a hopper and blade assembly for pre-composting or cutting and shredding the scraps; a component tray for securing the housing to the hopper; a bin for collecting the pre-composted scraps; and a crank assembly which delivers rotational power to the blade assembly.

BENEFIT CLAIMS TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of U.S. non-provisional applicationSer. No. 13/200,808 filed Sep. 30, 2011 in the names of Gail D. Loos,James E. Jones, James P. Monahan, Jeffery L. Schaefer, and ShaneKorthuis, said non-provisional application being hereby incorporated byreference as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the present invention generally relates to devices whichreduce the size of food items. The field of the present inventionspecifically relates to new field—pre-composting organic material. Inparticular, a pre-composter including two openings and pre-compostingmeans therebetween wherein organic materials from the kitchen areshredded and/or cut into smaller pieces which are then composted.Shredding kitchen scraps may be for the additional purpose of simplylower the volume of household garbage. More particularly the inventionrelates to a hand-operated pre-composter for kitchen use.

BACKGROUND

It is important to note that “pre-composting” has different definitionsin the public domain. For the purposes of the present inventionpre-composting means shredding, cutting, mashing and/or other similarmeans of lowering the volume and/or increasing the surface area, oforganic kitchen scraps. A smaller volume of garbage is typically easierto transport. An increased surface area of organic matter typicallydecomposes in a notable shorter period of time. Such decomposition maybe utilized for the generation of methane and/or may be for compostingpurposes wherein the byproduct is a soil amendment.

The background of the invention is in one respect extensive and inanother limited. Composting organic material has been done for centurieswherein a soil amendment is derived from the composting process. Thesoil amendment may vary depending upon the time and extent ofdecomposition the organic material has undergone.

Recently backyard or even in-house composting containers have been madeand sold to facilitate home composting. These are designed to receiveorganic materials and over time decomposition thereof, and with somecontainers means by which the materials may be rotated by the container,render a soil amendment.

The rate of decomposition of the organic material will vary dependingupon a number of factors well known in the art. Regardless, the rate ofdecomposition will be lowered, and under many circumstances loweredsignificantly, if the surface area of the organic material is increased.

General awareness of human impact of the environment has become acute.Composting organic material by individual households has a number ofenvironmental benefits well-known in the art. As of late, anenvironmental desire to merely lower the volume and/or weight of thegarbage has been identified as such a benefit.

The containers and products on the market related to composting do notinclude a product designed specifically to lower the volume and/orweight of organic material handled by garbage pick-up services and/orincreasing the surface are of organic materials to expedite thedecomposition process. In this respect, the subject invention relates toa new product concept which does not have a background which includessimilar products with such product goals.

SUMMARY

An apparatus for pre-composting organic material, comprising: a housingwith two openings and a pre-composting means between the two openingswherein kitchen scraps may be fed in the first opening and thepre-composted scraps exit the second opening. In an embodiment of thepresent invention the pre-composter includes: a lid assembly which mayfacilitate feeding scraps into the pre-composter; a hopper and bladeassembly for pre-composting or cutting and shredding the scraps; acomponent tray for securing the housing to the hopper; a bin forcollecting the pre-composted scraps; and a crank assembly which deliverspower to the blade assembly.

The pre-composter is also designed to temporarily store pre-compostedmaterial and dispense the material to a storage container with a volumelarger than the bin's.

The precomposter may be a counter-top apparatus which may improve publiccompliance with composting or waste diversion requirements by providinga sanitary storage and transport method while reducing the volume oftypical food waste.

Objects and advantages pertaining to the present inventions disclosedherein may become apparent upon referring to the exemplary embodimentsillustrated in the drawings herein and disclosed in the followingdetailed description and/or claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1G are perspective, top, bottom, left, front, right, and backviews, respectively, of an exemplary kitchen shredder. FIG. 1H is afront view of a housing of the exemplary kitchen shredder.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views of a main lid and a hatch lid,respectively, of the exemplary kitchen shredder. FIGS. 2C-2E aredetailed views of a main lid hinge of the exemplary kitchen shredder.FIG. 2F is an exploded view of the main lid, the hatch lid, and aspring-loaded main lid hatch latch. FIG. 2G is another perspective viewof the main lid.

FIG. 3A is an exploded view of a bin and bin handle assembly of theexemplary kitchen shredder. FIGS. 3B and 3C are top and bottom views,respectively, of the bin.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a component tray of the exemplarykitchen shredder.

FIG. 5A is an exploded view of a hopper and hopper handle of theexemplary kitchen shredder. FIG. 5B is a transparent perspective view ofthe hopper from below.

FIG. 6A is an exploded view of a blade assembly of the exemplary kitchenshredder. FIG. 6B is a side view of a blade of the blade assembly. FIG.6C is a perspective view of a strut of the blade assembly.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a crank arm assembly of the exemplarykitchen shredder.

FIG. 8 is a perspective partially transparent view of the hopper, theblade assembly, and a crank motor of the exemplary kitchen shredder.

PARTS LIST  10 Pre-composter 100 Housing 111 First Opening 112 SecondOpening 130 Main Lid Hinge 140 Housing Outer Base 141a-d Housing Feet (4each) 142a and 142b Suction Cups 143a and 143b Suction Cup Levers 151Back Beveled Ridge Segment 152a and b Side Beveled Ridge HorizontalSegments 153a and b Side Beveled Ridge Vertical Segments 154a and b SideBeveled Ridge Arcuate Segments 180a-b Bin Interface Channels 200 LidAssembly 210 Main Lid 212a Main Lid Outer Beveled Surface 212b Main LidFirst Inner Beveled Surface 212c Main Lid Second Inner Beveled Surface213 Main Lid Aperture 214 Main Lid Hatch Hinge 215 Main Lid Hatch Gap216 Main Lid Main Latch 220 Hatch Lid 221 Hatch Lid Latch 222. Hatch LidHinge Pin 223 Hatch Lid Tab 300 Bin 310 Bin Handle Assembly 320 Bin PourSpout 330 Bin Inside Bottom 331 Bin Inside Bottom Ridges 340 Bin OutsideBottom Surface 341a-b Housing Interface Channels 350a-d Bin Tabs 400Component Tray 410 Perforations 420 Block Receptacle 430 Tray Vents 500Hopper 510a-n Flanged Ribs 511a-n Flanged Channels 520 Hopper Handle 530Hopper Upper Opening 540 Hopper Lower Opening 600 Blade Assembly 610Axle 620a-h Blades 621a-d curved blade segments 622 hex-shaped bladeaperture 623a-b hooks 630a-f Struts 631a-b curved strut segments 700Crank Assembly 710 Crank Arm 720 Crank Handle 800 Crank Motor

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, written descriptions of exemplaryembodiments of the present invention follow.

Precomposter 10 may include a housing 100, a lid assembly 200, a bin300, a component tray 400, a hopper 500, a blade assembly 600 and acrank assembly 700. The construction of composter 10 components may beas follows: housing 100 includes first opening 111 and lid assembly 200is attached on top of opening 111; lid assembly 200 includes main lid210 and hatch lid 220 mounted within maid lid 210 wherein opening hatchlid 220 provides access to first opening 111; housing 100 also includessecond opening 112 on a side of housing 100 and below opening 111wherein bin 300 may reside and be removed from; component tray 400 maybe affixed to the inner surface of housing 100; hopper 500 may beaffixed to component tray 400; blade assembly 600 may substantiallyreside within, and may be mounted to, hopper 500 and may be rotatablymounted to housing 100; and crank assembly 700 may substantially resideexternal to housing 100 and may be connected to axle 610 which hasassembled thereto blades 620 and struts 630, wherein when crank assembly700 is rotated, in either direction, blades 620 rotate and inconjunction with fixed struts 630 and in conjunction with hopper 500 mayprecompost organic material feed into opening 111 and deliver theprecomposted organic material to bin 300 which when housed in housing100 collects the precomposted material.

It should be noted that “organic material” is one term for what thesubject invention precomposter 10 may precompost or process. It is notthe intention of the applicant to vary from this concept when referringto “kitchen scraps” or “scraps” or similar. While alternativeembodiments of the subject inventions may include organic material whichis not typically associated with the kitchen, referring to “kitchenscraps” and the like may be beneficial to the reader to put the use ofprecomposter 10 in that particular context.

The components, and their relationships, will now be described ingreater detail.

Housing 100 may include beveled ridge on 3 sides that will provide anergonomic gripping surface to facilitate moving precomposter 10 in anyupward and/or sideway direction. Because of the forces necessary forprecomposting many organic kitchen scraps precomposter 10 may weighapproximately 8 pounds, which may not be easy for many users to movewhen reaching for precomposter 10 in a distal location with their arms.For example, it may be preferable to store precomposter 10 convenientlyunder a kitchen cabinet on a kitchen countertop which will requireupward and horizontal forces to move precomposter 10 to and from such adistal storage location.

Users may prefer to precompost scraps when precomposter 10 is not undera kitchen cabinet—which require the movement thereof described above.Nevertheless, precomposter 10 may be designed to accommodate typicalclearance between a kitchen countertop and upper kitchencabinets—approximately 18 inches. A design of precomposter 10 has aheight of less than 13 inches and a height of less than 17 inches whenhatch lid 220 is fully open.

The beveled ridge is depicted as continuous along the back and two sidesof housing 100. The ridge includes: back segment 151 which ishorizontal; side horizontal segments 152 a and 152 b which aresubstantially horizontal; and side vertical segments 153 a and 153 bwhich are substantially vertical. There is no beveled ridge along thefront side of housing 100.

Vertical segments 153 a and 153 b include a modest horizontal drifttoward the back of housing 100 as they rise along the sides of housing100. This enables a user, who for example will pull precomposter 10 outfrom under an upper kitchen cabinet, to exert a modest lifting force,which will lower the shear frictional force resulting from dragging feet141 a-d and/or cups 143 a and 143 b along the kitchen countertop, whichmay thereby make it easier to pull composter 10 to a countertop positionwhich preferable to the user.

A beveled surface, in contrast to a 90 degree ridge, may provide a moreergonomical interface surface for a human hand or finger in that it maybe more comfortable to engage and distribute loads over a greater areaof the user's hand or fingers thereby making it easier for the user tomove or orient precomposter 10.

The location of vertical segments 153 a and 153 b are preferably of thesame design and location on each side of precomposter 10, so the usermay more easily stabilize precomposter 10 when moving same bysymmetrically engaging precomposter 10. The fore/aft position ofsegments 153 a and 153 b are preferable ergonomic in design. Ergonomicconsiderations include the center of mass of precomposter 10 and commonmeans for grabbing and lifting precomposter 10. In particular sidebeveled ridge arcuate segments 154 a and 154 b are positioned such thata user may securely grab precomposter 10 by engaging 154 a and 154 bwith her fingers and the main lid outer beveled surfaces 212 a-c withthe palmar region of her hand.

In an exemplary embodiment housing 100 can have a housing outer base 140which includes housing feet 141 a-d and suction cups 142 a and 142 b.The feet 141 a-d and cups 142 a-b are designed to all rest on acountertop, or other flat substantially horizontal surface, whenprecomposter 10 is at rest. At rest is to be distinguished fromprecomposter 10 suspended by for example a user utilizing a beveledridge as described herein to lift precomposter 10. When precomposter 10is suspended cups 142 a-b will project slightly distal to precomposter10—specifically slightly distal to the plane defined by the bottom offeet 141 a-d.

When precomposter 10 is set upon a smooth substantially flatsubstantially horizontal surface in preparation for precomposting, cups142 a-b may form a seal with the surface, facilitated by the deformationof cups 142 a-b when set upon such a surface. Cups 142 a-b and saidsurface are preferably clean void of particulates or other substanceswhich may compromise a seal. The user can then rotate cup levers 143 a-bwhich may secure the seal with the for example countertop and as levers143 a-b are rotated cup diaphragms 144 a-b create a progressivelygreater cavity (concave) which in turn creates a vacuum which in turnsecures precomposter 10 to the countertop and thereby facilitates use ofprecomposter 10.

The design of lid assembly 200 in an exemplary design is also cognizantof the desire to secure precomposter 10 when in use. Main lid 210 issubstantially square in general shape with a rectangular aperture 213approximately centered therein. Main lid 200 includes main lid outerbeveled surface 212 a, main lid first inner beveled surface 212 b andmain lid second inner beveled surface 212 c. Beveled surfaces 212 a and212 b provide ergonomic surfaces which may allow the user to stabilizeprecomposter 10 when in use. The user may crank the crank assembly 700with one hand and brace precomposter 10 with his other hand—inparticular the palmar region of the hand.

Main lid second inner beveled surface 212 c provides a shoot fordirecting kitchen scraps to and through main lid aperture 213. Hatch lid220 may be rotatably affixed to main lid 210 at main lid hatch hinge214, and may be secured in a closed position with main lid hatch latch215 by means well known in the relevant arts. Preferably hatch lid 220is approximately level with the junction between inner beveled surface212 b and second inner beveled surface 212 c when in a closed or latchedposition. Hatch lid 220 and hatch hinge 214 are design to allowsubstantially full access to the aperture defined by the junction offirst inner beveled surface 212 b and second inner beveled surface 212 cthereby not encumbering or blocking the delivery of kitchen scraps tomain lid aperture 213.

Hatch lid 220 is preferably transparent. This allows the user to seeorganic material in hopper 500 as it is processed. While hopper 500 andblade assembly 600 are designed to cut organic material it should benoted other processes may result. Prototype tests of the subjectinvention indicate materials are not only cut, or shredded, byprecomposter 10, but materials may also be mashed, or masticated, orsimilar. This may occur for a number of reason based upon the immutablelaws of physics, but are apparent as a result of the no-bladed surfaceswithin hopper 500 and the forces exerted on materials by blade assembly600 and how that may impact adjacent materials.

Watching the precomposting process may alert the user, for example, asto when it is prudent to reverse the rotation of blade assembly 600 orwhen it is prudent to take other action which may improve theprecomposting process.

Main lid 210 is removably and rotatably affixed to the top of housing100 at main lid hinge 130. Main lid hinge 130 and the main lid hinge pinare collectively designed to inhibit removal of main lid 210 fromhousing 100 except when main lid 210 is at approximately a 60 angle tohousing 100 or specifically at approximately 60 degrees to main lidhinge 130 which means, generally, approximately 60 degrees tohorizontal. This can be appreciated by noting the size, positioning andlocation of main lid hinge 130 generally and specifically main lid hingearcuate cups and main lid hinge arcuate gaps vis-à-vis the main lidhinge pin generally and main lid hinge pin double-D segments. Thearcuate gaps are centered at approximately 60 degrees and define anarcuate gap of approximate 50 degree.

It may also be appreciated from the designs of main lid hinge 130 andthe main lid hinge that main lid 210 will be at approximately 110degrees when fully opened. Precomposter 10 may be dimensioned such thatit fits under standard above-counter cabinets when main lid 210 is fullyopened.

When main lid 210 and hatch lid 220 are rotatably closed theycollectively cover first opening 111 in the top of housing 100.

When main lid 210 is closed and hatch lid 200 is opened kitchen scrapsmay be placed into the opening or aperture defined by main lid 210 whichfurther defines first opening 111 in housing 100. In this exemplaryembodiment means for composting are below first housing opening 111,namely hopper 500 and blade assembly 600.

To provide structural integrity and rigidity an exemplary embodimentincludes component tray 400. Component tray 400 may be secured to theinterior of housing 100, and hopper 500 may be secured to component tray400. Blade assembly 600 is affixed to hopper 500, and crank assembly 700is affixed to blade assembly 600. Rotating crank assembly 700 drivesblade assembly axle 610 which in turn rotates blades 620 a-h which inconjunction with fixed struts 630 a-f shred the kitchen scraps placedthrough main lid aperture 213.

Housing 100 includes a second opening 112 which may be interfaced withbin 300. Bin 300 may slidably engage housing 100, specifically wherein abin outside bottom surface 340 is design to slidably engage housinginside bottom surface 142. Bin 300 and housing 100 are design toposition bin 300, when fully slid into housing 100, under hopper 500 soas to collect precomposted, that is shredded and/or cut and/ormasticated, kitchen scraps. Bin 300 will collect, with the aid ofgravity in this exemplary embodiment, such precomposted scraps.

A user of precomposter 10 may at her discretion either empty bin 300 ofaccumulated liquid or of the entire contents of bin 300. The nature ofsuch precomposting typically creates quite a bit of liquid. And giventhe organic nature of kitchen scraps, the fact that precomposter 10 willtypically be stored at room temperature and the fact that it may bedesirable not to empty bin 300 every time scraps are precomposted—bin300 may often become a prime host for bugs, bacteria, foul odors andother undesirables for the kitchen environment. Composter 10 is designedto address these issues in many ways.

Bin pour spout 320 is designed to enable the user to pour off suchundesirable liquids without dumping the solid, or at least larger orcohered solid, precomposted materials in bin 300. Those users who do nothave a larger bin to store precomposted material in the kitchen, whichis not uncommon, may choose to empty bin 300 as infrequently as possibledirectly into an outdoor composting device or even an indoor compostingdevice which may be relatively remote to their kitchen—therebyminimizing their inconvenience. Spout 320 is of a simple concave arcuatedesign to facilitate the pouring liquids from bin 300.

The inside bottom surface of housing 100 includes bin interface channels180 a-b to slidably engage housing interface channels 341 a-b on binoutside bottom surface 340.

Bin 300 also includes bin tabs 350 a-d to engage specifically designbags (not shown) or the like which may facilitate disposal ofpre-composted materials for certain users of precomposter 10.

Composter 10 includes a number of designs features which may mitigatesuch undesirable results of storing even small amounts of precompostedmaterial. Bin inside bottom ridges 331 are designed to channel andaccumulate liquids so they may be readily poured out of bin 300. Housing100 is vented per housing vents. Housing 100 is designed to house hopper500 but preferably hopper 500 is spaced an appreciable distance from theinside of housing 100 to allow for circulation of air insideprecomposter 10. Additionally, bin 300 is oversized in relation to thebottom of hopper 500 thereby allowing for air to move from bin 300around hopper 400. Component tray 400 includes perforations 410 designedto align with the housing vents allowing air to exit precomposter 10.Component tray 400 includes block receptacle 420 designed to receive acorrespondingly designed block (not shown) which may house Xeolite,herbs or other substances which may mitigate orders, insects or otherundesirable products of precomposted material(s) including those in bin300.

Blade assembly 600 includes axle 610, blades 620 a-h, struts 630 a-f andmiscellaneous bushings and spacers with means of use well known in thearts to allow axle 610 and blades 620 a-h, removably fixed in place toaxle 610, to rotate relative to fixed struts 630 a-f, and fixed hopper500. Moreover, the distal ends of struts 630 a-f may be slid into hopper500 from below wherein said distal ends slide into corresponding hopperchannels 511 a-g flange channels on one side of hopper 500 and hopperchannels 511 h-n on the other side of hopper 500.

Struts 630 a-f may include holes at their ends (not shown) which alignwith hopper flanged rib holes (not shown). A hopper rod (not shown) mayfix struts 630 a-f to hopper 500. Flanged ribs 510 a-n may provideaddition structural integrity to hopper 500.

Hopper 500 may include a hopper handle 520 which may facilitate theremoval of hopper 500, including blade assembly 600 for cleaning orrepair. Preferably, hopper 500 may be easily disconnected from componenttray 400 by means well known in the mechanical arts which may includeutilization of hopper tabs 550 a-b.

A crank assembly 700 may be releasably attached to the end of axle 610by means well known in the mechanical arts wherein rotation of crank arm710 affixed to axle 610 rotates blades 620 a-h relative to fixed struts630 a-f and hopper 500. Organic material placed in first opening 111will fall into hopper upper opening 530 whereupon rotating blades 620a-h will mechanically process, including cutting, the organic material.Cutting is enhanced by the design of struts 630 a-f which may includeconcave segments 631 a and 631 b which may vary in curvature from strutto strut or even on a single strut. A concave design may cradle organicmaterial to be shredded by blades 620 a-h such cradling tends to holdthe material in place while significant forces are exerted on thematerial by one or more of blades 620 a-h.

The specific blade design depicted in FIG. 6B has a number of potentialbenefits. Curved portions 621 a-d may vary the point of greatest forceon the material facilitating the cutting of tougher materials. Ifmaterial stick to the interior walls of hopper 500 hooks 623 a and 623 bmay pull material of said walls. The direct drive design allows hooks623 a and 623 b to reverse direction to assist in such dislodging. In analternative embodiment curve blade segments 621 a and 621 b may have asharp edge to cut material whereas 621 c and 621 c may have a dulleredge to enhance masticating or crushing material. Alternatively, aprecomposter 10 which does not rely on the assistance of gravity, orrelies less on gravity, hooks 623 a-b may grab and pull organic materialinto the precomposting mechanism.

A hex shaped axle 610 may correspond to a hex shaped aperture 622 inblades 620 a-h. Preferably blades 621-h are 60 degrees out of phasewherein two pairs of blades (620 a and 620 g, and 620 b and 620 h) arealways in the same rotational position. Other cross-sectional shapes maybe functionally equivalent for axle 610 and blade aperture 622.

Crank assembly 700 includes crank handle 720 which may be ergonomicallydesign to comfortably receive the palmar region of a human hand whichmay facilitate rotating crank arm 710 in a clockwise or counterclockwisedirection. Alternatively, a gearing mechanism (not shown) well known inthe arts may vary the 1 to 1 ratio of crank handle rotation and axle 610and blades 620 a-h rotation. Alternatively, as depicted in FIG. 8 aninternal electric motor, or the like, generically depicted as 810 couldbe included to power the rotation of blades a-h and axle 610.

Alternatively, in an alternative exemplary embodiment the precompostermay be simply comprised of a housing with two openings and precompostingmeans therebetween. In such an embodiment means well known in themechanical arts would allow for an axle to be rotatably fixed at itsdistal ends to a housing wherein a blade would be removably fixed to theaxle and a strut would be fixed to the interior of the housing.

It is intended that equivalents of the disclosed exemplary embodiments,alternative embodiments and/or preferred embodiments and methods shallfall within the scope of the present disclosure and claims—or asamended. It is intended that the disclosed embodiments and methods, andequivalents thereof, may be modified while remaining within the scope ofthe present disclosure or claims or so appended.

For the purposes of the present disclosure and appended claims, theconjunction “or” is to be construed inclusively (e.gt. “a dog or a cat”would be interpreted as “a dog, or a cat, or both”; e.g., “a dog, a cat,or a mouse could be interpreted as “a dog, or a cat, or a mouse, or anytwo, or all three”), unless: (i) it is explicitly stated otherwise,e.g., but use of “either . . . or”, “only on of . . . ”, or similarlanguage; or (ii) two or more of the listed alternatives are mutuallyexclusive within the particular context, in which case “or” wouldencompass only those combinations involving non-mutually-exclusivealternatives. For purposes of the present disclosure or appended claims,the words “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and variants thereofshall be construed as open ended terminology, with the same meaning asif the phrase “at least” were appended after each instance thereof.

The Abstract is provided as required as an aid to those searching forspecific subject matter within the patent literature. However, theAbstract is not intended to imply that any elements, features, orlimitations recited therein are necessarily encompassed by anyparticular claim. The scope of subject matter encompassed by each claimshall be determined by the recitation of only that claim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shredding apparatus comprising a shredderassembly, the shredder assembly comprising: a hopper having an upperopening, a lower opening, a first plurality of lateral, substantiallyvertical channels in a side of the hopper, and a second plurality oflateral, substantially vertical channels in another side of the hopperopposite the first plurality of channels; a substantially horizontalaxle rotatably mounted through sides of the hopper with the first andsecond pluralities of channels being on opposite sides of the axle; aplurality of struts, each of which has a first end received in acorresponding channel of the first plurality of channels, has a secondend received in a corresponding channel of the second plurality ofchannels, and is rotatably mounted at a central portion thereof on theaxle, wherein engagement of the ends of the struts in the correspondingchannels limits or prevents rotation of the struts relative to thehopper upon rotation of the axle; and a plurality of blades, each ofwhich is non-rotatably mounted at a central portion thereof on the axle,arranged with the struts and the blades alternating along the length ofthe axle, wherein rotation of the axle causes rotation of the bladesrelative to the hopper and struts, wherein the shredder assembly isarranged so that rotation of the axle and concomitant rotation of theblades relative to the hopper and struts causes material entering thehopper through the upper opening to be drawn between the struts by therotating blades and to exit through the lower opening.
 2. The shreddingapparatus of claim 1 further comprising: a housing having a top openingand a front opening; and an open-topped bin received within the housingthrough the front opening and removable from the housing, wherein: theshredder assembly is positioned within the housing so that materialpassing through the housing from the top opening into the bin passesthrough the shredder assembly; and the upper opening of the hoppercommunicates with the top opening of the housing and the lower openingof the hopper communicates with the open top of the bin.
 3. Theshredding apparatus of claim 2 wherein the shredder assembly isremovable from the housing.
 4. The shredding apparatus of claim 3further comprising a handle attached to the hopper and arranged tofacilitate removal of the shredder assembly from the housing.
 5. Theshredding apparatus of claim 1 wherein the axle is removable from thehopper and the struts and the blades are removable from the axle.
 6. Theshredding apparatus of claim 1 wherein each blade has, between thecentral portion and each end thereof, a convex edge portion.
 7. Theshredding apparatus of claim 1 wherein each strut has, between thecentral portion and each end thereof, a concave upper edge portion. 8.The shredding apparatus of claim 7 wherein curvature of the concaveupper edge portion of each strut differs from at least one other strut.9. The shredding apparatus of claim 1 wherein each end of each blade hasat least one hook.
 10. The shredding apparatus of claim 1 wherein atleast one of the blades has at least a portion of a sharpened edge. 11.The shredding apparatus of claim 10 wherein at least one of the bladeshas opposed sharpened edges.
 12. The shredding apparatus of claim 1wherein at least one of the struts has at least a portion of a sharpenedupper edge.
 13. The shredding apparatus of claim 1 wherein: the verticalchannels of at least one of the pluralities of channels each includes atleast one flange with a aperture therethrough arranged so that theapertures of that plurality of channels are substantially aligned alonga straight line; each strut includes an aperture through at least oneend thereof that is substantially aligned with the aperture of theflange of the corresponding channel with the end of the strut receivedin the corresponding channel; and the shredder assembly furthercomprises a pin inserted through the substantially aligned apertures ofthe struts and flanges.
 14. The shredding apparatus of claim 1 whereinthe lower opening of the hopper is larger than the upper opening of thehopper.
 15. The shredding apparatus of claim 14 wherein at least aportion of an interior surface of the sides of the hopper has aninverted slope.
 16. The shredding apparatus of claim 2 furthercomprising a hand crank or a motor mounted in or on the housing andoperatively coupled to drive rotation of the axle.
 17. The shreddingapparatus of claim 2 wherein the housing includes a removable upper lidhaving the top opening formed therein.
 18. The shredding apparatus ofclaim 3 wherein the housing includes a removable upper lid having thetop opening formed therein wherein the upper lid is arranged so thatremoval thereof facilitates removal of the shredder assembly from thehousing.
 19. The shredding apparatus of claim 2 further comprising ahatch lid attached to the housing, wherein the hatch lid is movablebetween a closed position substantially blocking the top opening and anopen position permitting passage of material through the top opening.20. The shredding apparatus of claim 19 wherein the hatch lid issubstantially transparent.
 21. The shredding apparatus of claim 2wherein the bin includes one or more protruding ridges on a bottom,interior surface thereof, wherein the ridges are arranged to channelliquid accumulated within the bin.
 22. The shredding apparatus of claim2 wherein the bin includes a handle arranged to facilitate removal ofthe bin from the housing and a pour spout arranged to pour liquidaccumulated within the bin.
 23. The shredding apparatus of claim 2wherein the housing includes one or more ridges on an outer surfacethereof arranged to enable a user to grasp the shredding apparatus. 24.The shredding apparatus of claim 23 wherein the one or more ridgesincludes at least one ridge that includes a first portion extendingsubstantially vertically along a lateral surface of the housing, asecond portion extending substantially horizontally across the lateralsurface of the housing, and a curved portion joining the first andsecond portions.
 25. The shredding apparatus of claim 23 wherein atleast a portion of at least one of the one or more ridges is beveled.26. The shredding apparatus of claim 2 further comprising one or moresuction cups attached to a bottom surface of the housing and arranged tosecure the shredding apparatus to a support surface.
 27. The shreddingapparatus of claim 1 wherein the axle and the blades are rotatable inboth clockwise and counterclockwise directions.